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For more information on this release:
E-mail: earnings@cso.ie Brian Cahill (+353) 21 4535173 Gerard Brett (+353) 21 4535513 Karen Desmond (+353) 21 4535512
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5023
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Earnings and Labour Costs Quarterly

Q4 2015 (Final) Q1 2016 (Preliminary Estimates)

QuarterAverage Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly Paid HoursAverage Hourly Total Labour Costs
  € €Hours €
Q1 2015700.6322.2531.525.70
Q4 2015710.1621.8932.425.33
Q1 2016*707.9922.4031.625.86
     
Quarterly change %-0.3 +2.3-2.5 +2.1
Annual change %+1.1+0.7+0.3+0.6
* Preliminary Estimates

Average weekly earnings up 1.1% in year to Q1 2016

Average weekly earnings by economic sector
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Preliminary estimates show that average weekly earnings were €707.99 in Q1 2016, a rise of 1.1% from €700.63 a year earlier. Revised average weekly earnings were €710.16 in Q4 2015 and showed an increase of 1.1% over the same period in 2014. See table 1. 

Other features of the preliminary results for Q1 2016 include:

  • Average hourly earnings were €22.40 in Q1 2016 compared with €22.25 in Q1 2015, representing an increase of 0.7% over the year. See table 2.
  • Average weekly paid hours were 31.6 in Q1 2016, a 0.3% increase on those recorded in Q1 2015. See table 3.
  • Average hourly total labour costs stood at €25.86 in Q1 2016, a rise of 0.6% from the Q1 2015 value of €25.70. See table 6c.
  • Seasonally adjusted average weekly earnings in Q1 2016 were €705.39, an increase of 0.7% from the previous quarter. See table 4.
  • The job vacancy rate at the end of Q1 2016 was 0.9%, a decrease from 1.1% at the end of Q1 2015. See table 7c.

 

Unadjusted average weekly earnings increase in 8 of the 13 sectors in year to Q1 2016

Across the economic sectors average weekly earnings increased in 8 of the 13 sectors in the year to Q1 2016. The largest percentage increase was recorded in the Financial, insurance & real estate sector (+6.9%) rising from €1,086.33 to €1,161.75. The Public administration & defence sector experienced the largest percentage sectoral decrease falling 3.8% from €930.55 to €894.88. This fall is due to the temporary recruitment of Census 2016 field staff who had lower than average weekly paid hours. See table 1 and table A2.

Average weekly earnings in the private sector showed an increase of 2.2% from €639.73 to €654.11 in the year to Q1 2016. The public sector (including semi-state) average weekly earnings decreased 1.2% from €906.57 to €895.58 in the same period. Excluding Census field staff public sector average weekly earnings decreased 0.1% to €905.96. See table 1 and table A2.

Over the 5 year period Q1 2011 to Q1 2016 average weekly earnings across individual sectors showed changes ranging between -6.1% (Human health & social work sector) and +20.8% (Information and communication sector). See table 1 and figure 2.

  

Note: Census temporary field staff are included in the earnings, hours, labour costs and employment estimates for Q1 2016. The impact of Census field staff on estimates is illustrated in table A4.  

 

Note: While there is no internationally agreed methodology for assessing the public / private sector wage gap, the CSO has published an analysis of the differential using the National Employment Survey (NES) for 2009 and 2010. This analysis took account of compositional differences between sectors, such as occupational mix, sectors of activity, gender balance, union membership etc. Using a variety of criteria and assumptions, the public sector pay gap was estimated to range from 6.1% to 18.9% for NES 2010. See analysis here and here.

 

 

 

5 year % Change
J20.8433102289435
M14.5580121676492
R-S12.8691682122985
K-L12.629425679606
G8.51871290726312
B-E8.06593216356914
N6.37301797309124
F3.99015960638427
Total3.07781902890005
I3.01300244208302
H0.862262352083443
O0.605965216022653
P-5.40469031870114
Q-6.10439192955077
Total All Sectors K-L Financial, insurance and real estate activities
B-E Industry M Professional, scientific and technical activities
F Construction N Administrative and support service activities
G Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles O Public Administration and defence; compulsory social security
H Transportation and storage P Education
I Accommodation and food service activities Q Human health and social work activities
J Information and communication R-S Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities

 

 

Average hourly earnings increase 0.7% to €22.40 in year to Q1 2016

Average hourly earnings increased from €22.25 per hour in Q1 2015 to €22.40 in Q1 2016, representing an increase of 0.7% or €0.15. Revised average hourly earnings decreased 0.7% in the year to Q4 2015 from €22.04 to €21.89 per hour. Seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings showed an increase of 1.8% in the quarter to Q1 2016, increasing from €21.74 to €22.13. See table 2, table 4 and figure 3.

Unadjusted SeriesAdjusted Series
Q10821.5321.5008200862111
Q20821.5121.4532963653336
Q30821.2121.7707182582726
Q40822.1721.9808482028626
Q10922.4422.1671420749118
Q20922.0222.0599566643556
Q30921.8922.2317422322989
Q40922.4222.1260716474472
Q11022.1121.9404757093461
Q21021.9521.9884900632778
Q31021.6421.8813915415966
Q41022.0721.9080887644632
Q11122.2221.917034078039
Q21121.921.9393708836176
Q31121.5821.9524380283968
Q41122.0321.9862425218482
Q11222.1522.0116943182509
Q21221.9722.0107870402783
Q31221.821.9459574424763
Q41221.8921.8637747501026
Q11322.221.8587693872461
Q21322.0121.9458307618705
Q31321.3621.8702705194538
Q41321.7321.7758126624501
Q11422.1421.6249757518781
Q21421.5221.5555220949353
Q31421.0221.5970722057153
Q41422.0421.8500992223341
Q11522.2521.9634065619176
Q21521.8421.878374487618
Q31521.4621.86
Q41521.8921.74
Q11622.422.13

Average hourly earnings increased in 8 of the 13 main sectors in the year to Q1 2016. The largest increase was recorded in the Information and communication sector, increasing 4.4% from €30.56 to €31.91 per hour in the year. The Public administration & defence sector saw the largest annual fall in average hourly earnings to Q1 2016, decreasing 1.3% (-0.8% excluding Census field staff) from €25.66 to €25.33 per hour. See table 2, table A2 and figure 4.

Q1 2015Q1 2016
B-E22.6722.82
F19.219.3
G17.8317.78
H20.2520.21
I12.2712.48
J30.5631.91
K-L31.9632.84
M24.6625.26
N17.1917.9
O25.6625.33
P33.7633.87
Q22.0522.01
R-S17.3317.28
All sectors22.2522.4

In the five years to Q1 2016 overall average hourly earnings increased by 0.8% (€0.18) from €22.22 to €22.40. Across the sectors over this period average hourly earnings have increased in 10 of the 13 sectors. The largest percentage increase was recorded in the Information and communication sector (+18.5%) rising from €26.93 to €31.91. The largest percentage decrease in average hourly earnings over the same period was recorded in the Human health and social work sector (-6.6%) falling from €23.56 to €22.01.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees showed an annual increase of 0.6% in average hourly earnings in Q1 2016, from €18.19 to €18.30. Enterprises with between 50 and 250 employees recorded an increase in average hourly earnings of 2.0%, from €20.34 to €20.74 over the same period. Results for enterprises with greater than 250 employees showed an increase of 0.7% in the year to Q1 2016 with values rising from €25.71 to €25.89 in average hourly earnings.

Private sector average hourly earnings rose 1.5% from €20.45 to €20.75 in the year to Q1 2016, while public sector average hourly earnings decreased by 0.4%, from €28.19 to €28.08 in the same period.

 

Average weekly paid hours increase 0.3% in the year to Q1 2016

Average weekly paid hours increased 0.3% to 31.6 in the year to Q1 2016. Revised average weekly paid hours were 32.4 in Q4 2015 and showed an increase of 1.6% in the year. In the five years to Q1 2016 average weekly paid hours increased by 2.3% from the Q1 2011 level of 30.9. 

Seasonally adjusted average weekly paid hours have decreased by 0.9% to 31.8 from 32.1 in the quarter to Q1 2016. See table 3, table 4 and figure 5.

Unadjusted SeriesAdjusted Series
Q10832.732.864160118
Q20832.932.930705501
Q30832.932.695415194
Q40832.532.506201359
Q10931.732.065267119
Q20931.931.928918017
Q3093231.835153558
Q40932.131.797493263
Q11031.131.753345395
Q21031.631.628512599
Q31032.131.638218434
Q41031.831.517566121
Q11130.931.521182564
Q21131.431.423505036
Q31131.931.476459685
Q41131.731.516049714
Q11231.531.625402082
Q21231.631.617144633
Q31231.831.568907163
Q41231.631.541967984
Q11331.231.585025596
Q21331.631.609602128
Q31331.731.561859896
Q41331.731.629232976
Q11431.331.692475416
Q21431.831.804907407
Q31431.931.784273064
Q41431.931.829662955
Q11531.531.887414483
Q2153232.004682012
Q31532.232.113692443
Q41532.432.096411602
Q11631.631.788664901

The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly paid hours in Q1 2016 was recorded in the Financial, insurance and real estate sector (+4.1%), from 34.0 to 35.4 hours. The largest percentage decreases over the same period was seen in the Public administration & defence sector (-2.8%) from 36.3 to 35.3 hours and the Accomodation and food services sector (-2.0%) from 25.5 to 25.0 hours. Excluding Census field staff the Public administration & defence sector rose 0.8% to 36.6 hours in the period.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees and with between 50 and 250 employees both showed increases in the year, with average weekly paid hours rising 0.7% and 0.9% respectively. Enterprises with greater than 250 employees saw no change in average weekly paid hours in the year to Q1 2016 remaining at 32.5. See table 3 and table A4.

 

Average hourly total labour costs increase by 0.6% in year to Q1 2016

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 0.6% over the year to Q1 2016. The largest percentage increase in average hourly total labour costs was seen in the Administrative and support services sector, rising by 4.4% from €19.50 to €20.35 per hour. The Arts , entertainment, recreation and other services sector recorded the largest percentage decrease in average hourly total labour costs, decreasing by 2.3% from €20.76 to €20.28. Seasonally adjusted average hourly total labour costs increased by 1.0% in the quarter to Q1 2016.

In the year to Q1 2016 the average hourly total labour costs in firms with less than 50 employees increased by 0.8% (from €20.64 to €20.81), while there was a 1.8% increase for firms with 50 to 250 employees (from €23.69 to €24.11). Enterprises with 250 plus employees recorded an increase of 0.5% in average hourly total labour costs over the same period (from €29.86 to €30.02). See table 6c.

The public sector average hourly total labour costs decreased by €0.01 in the year to Q1 2016, falling from €31.20 to €31.19 while the private sector recorded an increase in average hourly total labour costs of 1.2% from €24.03 to €24.31 in the year.

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 2.0% over the five years to Q1 2016, from €25.36 per hour to €25.86. The percentage changes across the sectors ranged from -4.9% in the Human health and social work sector (from €25.70 to €24.45) to +20.2% in the Information and communication sector (from €31.96 to €38.42). See table 6c and figure 6.

5 Year % change
J20.2127659574468
R-S12.7292940522513
G7.34137388568431
K-L7.30217737652682
N5.82423296931878
M4.31680342490188
B-E4.221635883905
H2.1505376344086
Total1.97160883280757
F1.44522144522146
I0.583090379008747
O-2.54867256637168
P-4.09731113956465
Q-4.86381322957198

 

Average weekly earnings decrease 1.2% across the public sector in year to Q1 2016 

Average weekly earnings decreased by 1.2% across the public sector in the year to Q1 2016. Excluding Census field staff publis sector earnings decreased by 0.1% in the year. Four of the seven public sector sub-sectors had annual increases in average weekly earnings, with the Semi-state sector recording the largest rise of 2.4% in the year to Q1 2016. The Civil service sub-sector showed a decrease in average weekly earnings in the year of 9.8%, from €922.23 to €831.59. Civil service showed a fall of 0.1% to €921.56 when Census field staff are excluded. See table 8a, table A2 and figure 7.

Q1 2015Q1 2016
Civil service922.23831.59
Defence807.82811.03
Garda Siochana1235.671206.15
Education901.82886.68
Regional bodies827.17833.18
Health858.23862.64
Semi-state992.81016.52
All sectors906.57895.58

 

Annual increase of 3.2% in public sector employment in Q1 2016

The estimated number of persons employed in the public sector showed an increase of 3.2% over the year to Q1 2016 from 374,500 to 386,600, including the 4,600 Census temporary field staff in Q1 2016. 

In the year to Q1 2016 the largest and only percentage decrease was recorded in Defence (-2.1%), a fall of 200 over the Q1 2015 figure. The largest percentage increase over the same period was recorded in the Civil service sector, increasing 12.6% from 38,100 to 42,900. Excluding Census field staff the Civil service sector increased by 0.8% in the period to 38,400.

Over the five years from Q1 2011 to Q1 2016 overall employment numbers in the public sector fell by 22,800 (-5.6%) from 409,400 to 386,600. See table 8e, table A4 and figure 8.

Q1 2015Q1 2016
Civil service38.142.9
Defence9.79.5
Garda Siochana12.812.8
Education110.9112.7
Regional bodies3232.6
Health119.6123.1
Semi-state51.452.8

Table 8e contains estimates of public sector employment numbers by sub-sector within the overall public sector. Public sector employment is spread across a number of NACE economic sectors and includes Semi-state bodies in sectors such as Transportation and storage and Information and communication. Furthermore, while employment in the Public administration and defence, Education, Human health and social work sectors is for the most part comprised of public sector employees, there is some element of private sector employment across these sectors.

 

Job vacancy rate decreases to 0.9% in Q1 2016

The job vacancy rate at the end of Q1 2016 was 0.9%, decreasing from 1.0% a year earlier. In Q1 2016 the Information and communication sector had the highest vacancy rate of 2.5%, followed by the Financial, insurance and real estate sector with a vacancy rate of 2.3%. The Transportation and storage sector and The Education sector shared the lowest vacancy rate of 0.3% at the end of Q1 2016. See table 7c and figure 9.

The rounded number of job vacancies at the end of Q1 2016 was 14,900 representing a fall of 800 from the number of vacancies at the end of Q1 2015 and an increase of 900 on the vacancies reported at the end of Q4 2015. See table 7b. 

Job Vacancy Rate
Q1081
Q2080.9
Q3080.7
Q4080.5
Q1090.4
Q2090.4
Q3090.3
Q4090.3
Q1100.4
Q2100.5
Q3100.5
Q4100.5
Q1110.5
Q2110.6
Q3110.5
Q4110.5
Q1120.6
Q2120.5
Q3120.6
Q4120.6
Q1130.6
Q2130.7
Q3130.7
Q4130.7
Q1140.7
Q2140.7
Q3140.8
Q4140.7
Q1151
Q2150.9
Q3151
Q4150.9
Q1160.9

It should be noted that all earnings are gross amounts before deductions for PRSI, tax and other levies.  This is particularly relevant to the public sector since March 2009 when the pension levy was introduced. 

The terms of the Haddington Road agreement have implications on public sector earnings, for example, some public sector workers have increased hours resulting in a fall in hourly earnings.  For the full text of the agreement see the following link: http://per.gov.ie/haddington-road-agreement/  

Changes in the composition of employees in a given sector or group has an effect on the average levels of earnings and paid hours over time.  For example, if the proportion of part-time employees increases within a sector then it would be expected that the average weekly earnings and paid hours would fall in that sector even if the hourly pay rates were unchanged.  Also, estimated averages do not reflect differences in characteristics of the job or the employees, and since EHECS collects aggregate data from each enterprise it is not possible to correct for such differences using EHECS data.

Many public sector employees are paid on the basis of incremental scales. Recruitment, particularly at lower levels, to these sectors would generally result in a depression to average earnings.  The absence of recruitment has the opposite effect.  Earnings are inclusive of overtime and irregular earnings. The variability of these components can impact on trends over time.   The reduction in employee numbers across the public sector will also impact on average earnings.  Consideration to these factors should be given when interpreting results.

 

Table 1 Average weekly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
  €€€€€€€€%€%
B-EIndustry808.71832.17824.23864.28856.42858.41873.94+15.53+1.8+17.52+2.0
FConstruction666.64655.56640.22699.23696.96749.57693.24-56.33 -7.5 -3.72 -0.5
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles495.38518.47518.83520.44530.43549.15537.58-11.57 -2.1 +7.15+1.3
HTransportation and storage713.24709.19723.54706.45731.49755.46719.39-36.07 -4.8 -12.10 -1.7
IAccommodation and food services303.02297.67293.01309.59313.40327.13312.15-14.98 -4.6 -1.25 -0.4
JInformation and communication952.201,042.641,039.001,037.381,101.411,070.551,150.67+80.12+7.5+49.26+4.5
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1,031.481,022.021,044.791,111.291,086.331,022.291,161.75+139.46+13.6+75.42+6.9
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities741.31857.00826.39829.87803.57829.03849.23+20.20+2.4+45.66+5.7
NAdministrative and support services 491.29491.24507.98510.26507.91526.94522.60-4.34 -0.8 +14.69+2.9
OPublic administration and defence2889.49936.41940.82920.92930.55928.81894.88-33.93 -3.7 -35.67 -3.8
PEducation831.50828.09814.13802.20796.70822.45786.56-35.89 -4.4 -10.14 -1.3
QHuman health and social work717.68711.91689.02667.90669.48691.16673.87-17.29 -2.5 +4.39+0.7
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities420.54468.60484.24461.87469.05470.55474.66+4.11+0.9+5.61+1.2
             
Total2 686.85697.03693.06692.86700.63710.16707.99-2.17 -0.3 +7.36+1.1
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector610.88624.32624.26631.04639.73647.73654.11+6.38+1.0+14.38+2.2
Public sector2893.83917.46915.62902.98906.57927.83895.58-32.25 -3.5 -10.99 -1.2
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees520.16536.49534.05553.10546.44558.13551.98-6.15 -1.1 +5.54+1.0
50-250 employees645.54656.07653.25619.02643.15659.58662.11+2.53+0.4+18.96+2.9
Greater than 250 employees2821.25825.02828.12824.82835.28842.43842.48+0.05-+7.20+0.9
             
¹ Average weekly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8a.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 1 (XLS 50KB)
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Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
  €€€€€€€€%€%
B-EIndustry22.1022.2722.0622.8322.6722.0922.82+0.73+3.3+0.15+0.7
FConstruction18.9718.5518.3219.2519.2020.2919.30-0.99 -4.9 +0.10+0.5
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles16.6017.0717.3317.4517.8317.6517.78+0.13+0.7-0.05 -0.3
HTransportation and storage19.7119.9620.2520.2720.2520.5020.21-0.29 -1.4 -0.04 -0.2
IAccommodation and food services12.3712.1012.0612.2012.2712.4212.48+0.06+0.5+0.21+1.7
JInformation and communication26.9328.8228.3928.8230.5629.3931.91+2.52+8.6+1.35+4.4
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate30.9230.1730.7032.2431.9628.9132.84+3.93+13.6+0.88+2.8
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities24.0826.1725.3325.3424.6624.6825.26+0.58+2.4+0.60+2.4
NAdministrative and support services 16.8115.9416.9416.9917.1916.9917.90+0.91+5.4+0.71+4.1
OPublic administration and defence226.3026.4126.5125.5525.6625.6325.33-0.30 -1.2 -0.33 -1.3
PEducation35.9635.4735.2534.3533.7634.2633.87-0.39 -1.1 +0.11+0.3
QHuman health and social work23.5623.3122.8422.3522.0521.9722.01+0.04+0.2-0.04 -0.2
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities15.7316.6417.2216.8617.3316.8717.28+0.41+2.4-0.05 -0.3
             
Total2 22.2222.1522.2022.1422.2521.8922.40+0.51+2.3+0.15+0.7
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector19.7619.8820.0620.2920.4520.0420.75+0.71+3.5+0.30+1.5
Public sector228.9028.9629.0428.2928.1928.2528.08-0.17 -0.6 -0.11 -0.4
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees17.5417.7217.8818.5318.1918.1618.30+0.14+0.8+0.11+0.6
50-250 employees20.3120.5720.6219.7620.3420.1020.74+0.64+3.2+0.40+2.0
Greater than 250 employees226.0425.6325.8225.5125.7125.1125.89+0.78+3.1+0.18+0.7
             
¹ Average hourly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8b.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 2 (XLS 50KB)
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Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
  hourshourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
B-EIndustry36.637.437.437.937.838.938.3-0.6 -1.5 0.5+1.3
FConstruction35.135.334.936.336.336.935.9-1.0 -2.7 -0.4 -1.1
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles29.830.429.929.829.731.130.2-0.9 -2.9 0.5+1.7
HTransportation and storage36.235.535.734.936.136.935.6-1.3 -3.5 -0.5 -1.4
IAccommodation and food services24.524.624.325.425.526.325.0-1.3 -4.9 -0.5 -2.0
JInformation and communication35.436.236.636.036.036.436.1-0.3 -0.8 0.1+0.3
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate33.433.934.034.534.035.435.4--1.4+4.1
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities30.832.832.632.832.633.633.6--1.0+3.1
NAdministrative and support services 29.230.830.030.029.631.029.2-1.8 -5.8 -0.4 -1.4
OPublic administration and defence233.835.535.536.036.336.235.3-0.9 -2.5 -1.0 -2.8
PEducation23.123.323.123.423.624.023.2-0.8 -3.3 -0.4 -1.7
QHuman health and social work30.530.530.229.930.431.530.6-0.9 -2.9 0.2+0.7
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities26.728.228.127.427.127.927.5-0.4 -1.4 0.4+1.5
             
Total2 30.931.531.231.331.532.431.6-0.8 -2.5 0.1+0.3
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector30.931.431.131.131.332.331.5-0.8 -2.5 0.2+0.6
Public sector230.931.731.531.932.232.831.9-0.9 -2.7 -0.3 -0.9
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees29.730.329.929.930.030.730.2-0.5 -1.6 0.2+0.7
50-250 employees31.831.931.731.331.632.831.9-0.9 -2.7 0.3+0.9
Greater than 250 employees231.532.232.132.332.533.532.5-1.0 -3.0 --
             
¹ Average weekly paid hours by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8c.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 3 (XLS 50KB)
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Table 4 Earnings, hours and Labour Costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted by other characteristics and quarter
 Unadjusted Series Seasonally Adjusted Series
QuarterAverage weekly earningsAverage weekly paid hoursAverage hourly earningsAverage hourly other labour costcAverage hourly total labour costs Average weekly earningsAverage weekly paid hoursAverage hourly earningsAverage hourly other labour costAverage hourly total labour costs  
Q108704.8532.721.533.5025.03 705.0032.921.503.4024.84   
Q208706.5632.921.513.4024.91 705.2732.921.453.4724.94   
Q308697.6332.921.213.4224.63 709.2332.721.773.5125.08   
Q408721.2732.522.173.6025.77 712.8132.521.983.4825.47   
Q109710.7731.722.443.5926.03 712.0332.122.173.6225.76   
Q209702.6331.922.023.6525.66 705.6831.922.063.6625.78   
Q309700.0532.021.893.4925.38 706.4631.822.233.6425.82   
Q409719.1132.122.423.6426.07 702.6831.822.133.5825.79   
Q110687.1531.122.113.3325.45 696.6931.821.943.3725.23   
Q210693.7731.621.953.2725.22 696.0631.621.993.3225.27   
Q310694.1432.121.643.1124.75 692.4631.621.883.2825.20   
Q410702.2731.822.073.2625.33 691.8631.521.913.0125.07   
Q111686.8530.922.223.1425.36 691.2431.521.923.2025.07   
Q211688.6131.421.903.1425.04 690.1431.421.943.1525.13   
Q311688.2431.921.583.0824.66 691.8131.521.953.1225.13   
Q411698.1031.722.033.2925.32 692.2431.521.993.1225.08   
Q112697.0331.522.153.2425.39 692.6031.622.013.1925.08   
Q212693.0531.621.973.2925.26 693.7931.622.013.3225.32   
Q312692.6731.821.803.3125.11 693.2031.621.953.4325.61   
Q412692.3031.621.893.5725.46 692.5031.521.863.4725.23   
Q113693.0631.222.203.4525.65 692.1431.621.863.4425.37   
Q213696.1731.622.013.3125.32 691.8831.621.953.3925.30   
Q313677.4031.721.363.1924.55 690.5931.621.873.3825.09   
Q413689.4131.721.733.6925.43 689.4831.621.783.3925.21   
Q114692.8631.322.143.3625.50 687.4031.721.623.3825.09   
Q214685.4431.821.523.3124.84 685.5131.821.563.3324.92   
Q314670.9131.921.023.2324.25 683.5731.821.603.3324.82   
Q414702.6131.922.043.5025.55 698.0931.821.853.3725.33   
Q115700.6331.522.253.4425.70 699.4431.921.963.4325.29   
Q215698.6532.021.843.4325.28 698.7732.021.883.4825.32   
Q315691.8132.221.463.3324.79 699.8432.121.863.4825.39   
Q415710.1632.421.893.4425.33 700.2732.121.743.4325.23   
Q116*707.9931.622.403.4525.86 705.3931.822.133.3925.47   
*Preliminary Results  
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 4 (XLS 38KB)
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Table 5a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹²
NACE Principal Activity2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
  €€€€€€€€%€%
B-EIndustry20.5320.4620.4420.7920.7720.7120.82+0.11+0.5+0.05+0.2
FConstruction18.7818.4318.1818.9118.9119.3819.14-0.24 -1.2 +0.23+1.2
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles15.7116.0816.3916.3716.5516.5616.76+0.20+1.2+0.21+1.3
HTransportation and storage18.8918.7819.1019.4219.3219.3619.30-0.06 -0.3 -0.02 -0.1
IAccommodation and food services12.2311.8611.8712.0112.0312.0412.18+0.14+1.2+0.15+1.2
JInformation and communication24.2625.2525.0425.4926.0426.4027.03+0.63+2.4+0.99+3.8
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate27.2927.0026.7126.7726.8627.1526.76-0.39 -1.4 -0.10 -0.4
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities22.5723.5823.6923.9222.9923.1823.58+0.40+1.7+0.59+2.6
NAdministrative and support services 15.4114.9015.2415.3716.1816.0016.29+0.29+1.8+0.11+0.7
OPublic administration and defence325.0025.1725.2924.3824.4624.4824.24-0.24 -1.0 -0.22 -0.9
PEducation35.3934.9634.6633.9033.3733.7733.53-0.24 -0.7 +0.16+0.5
QHuman health and social work22.4322.2221.8021.4121.1721.0521.10+0.05+0.2-0.07 -0.3
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities15.3915.9616.4116.1616.4116.0316.23+0.20+1.2-0.18 -1.1
             
Total3 20.9820.8120.8620.6920.7820.7420.86+0.12+0.6+0.08+0.4
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector18.5318.5118.6818.7418.8518.8919.07+0.18+1.0+0.22+1.2
Public sector327.6627.7127.8127.1727.1027.0927.02-0.07 -0.3 -0.08 -0.3
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees16.9817.0517.2017.5617.4017.3717.46+0.09+0.5+0.06+0.3
50-250 employees19.0118.9919.1318.4618.8318.9319.05+0.12+0.6+0.22+1.2
Greater than 250 employees324.3723.9224.0623.6823.7823.7323.91+0.18+0.8+0.13+0.5
             
¹ Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings plus the average hourly irregular earnings in Table 5b equal average hourly earnings as set out in Table 2.
² Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8d.
3 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 5a (XLS 50KB)
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Table 5b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
  €€€€€€€€€
B-EIndustry1.561.811.632.031.901.382.00+0.62+0.10
FConstruction0.190.120.140.340.290.920.16-0.76-0.13
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.891.000.941.091.291.091.02-0.07-0.27
HTransportation and storage0.821.191.140.840.931.130.91-0.22-0.02
IAccommodation and food services0.140.230.190.180.240.380.31-0.07+0.07
JInformation and communication2.673.563.353.334.522.994.88+1.89+0.36
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate3.633.173.995.475.091.756.08+4.33+0.99
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities1.502.581.641.411.671.501.68+0.18+0.01
NAdministrative and support services 1.411.041.701.621.000.991.61+0.62+0.61
OPublic administration and defence21.301.241.221.161.201.151.10-0.05-0.10
PEducation0.570.520.590.440.380.490.34-0.15-0.04
QHuman health and social work1.131.091.040.940.870.920.91-0.01+0.04
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities0.340.680.800.700.920.841.06+0.22+0.14
           
Total2 1.241.341.351.451.481.151.55+0.40+0.07
           
Public/Private Sector         
Private sector1.231.381.381.551.601.151.69+0.54+0.09
Public sector21.241.241.231.121.081.161.06-0.10-0.02
           
Size of Enterprise         
Less than 50 employees0.550.670.680.970.790.790.84+0.05+0.05
50-250 employees1.301.581.491.301.511.161.69+0.53+0.18
Greater than 250 employees21.681.711.771.841.931.391.98+0.59+0.05
           
¹ Average hourly irregular earnings plus the average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings in Table 5a equal average hourly earnings as set out in Table 2.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 5b (XLS 47KB)
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Table 6a Average hourly other labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter
NACE Principal Activity2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
  €€€€€€€€%€%
B-EIndustry4.444.344.934.684.744.894.84-0.05 -1.0 +0.10+2.1
FConstruction2.482.262.292.412.372.552.46-0.09 -3.5 +0.09+3.8
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles2.462.532.522.722.722.862.68-0.18 -6.3 -0.04 -1.5
HTransportation and storage3.544.483.593.423.483.643.54-0.10 -2.7 +0.06+1.7
IAccommodation and food services1.351.131.081.281.311.341.31-0.03 -2.2 --
JInformation and communication5.036.097.325.996.436.926.51-0.41 -5.9 +0.08+1.2
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate6.746.697.487.538.037.057.58+0.53+7.5-0.45 -5.6
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities3.964.094.044.173.884.053.98-0.07 -1.7 +0.10+2.6
NAdministrative and support services 2.412.212.312.322.322.422.46+0.04+1.7+0.14+6.0
OPublic administration and defence11.952.012.092.092.162.132.20+0.07+3.3+0.04+1.9
PEducation3.093.403.523.523.483.593.58-0.01 -0.3 +0.10+2.9
QHuman health and social work2.142.362.372.422.432.412.44+0.03+1.2+0.01+0.4
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities2.263.043.543.123.432.352.99+0.64+27.2-0.44 -12.8
             
Total1 3.143.243.453.363.443.443.45+0.01+0.3+0.01+0.3
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector3.263.343.593.493.583.563.55-0.01 -0.3 -0.03 -0.8
Public sector12.822.942.982.953.013.053.11+0.06+2.0+0.10+3.3
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees2.242.412.572.562.452.412.51+0.10+4.1+0.06+2.4
50-250 employees3.473.353.343.203.353.243.37+0.13+4.0+0.02+0.6
Greater than 250 employees13.643.764.113.974.154.224.13-0.09 -2.1 -0.02 -0.5
             
1 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 6a (XLS 50KB)
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Table 6b Average hourly benefits in kind (BIK) by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
  €€€€€€€€€
B-EIndustry0.270.250.240.250.200.230.26+0.03+0.06
FConstruction0.110.090.060.060.050.060.05-0.01 -
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.220.210.220.270.240.310.23-0.08 -0.01
HTransportation and storage0.080.110.150.120.130.100.10--0.03
IAccommodation and food services0.030.020.010.020.020.020.01-0.01 -0.01
JInformation and communication0.360.790.480.910.911.791.02-0.77 +0.11
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate0.290.310.350.480.530.290.39+0.10-0.14
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities0.220.310.450.340.190.420.37-0.05 +0.18
NAdministrative and support services 0.160.070.170.100.120.160.15-0.01 +0.03
OPublic administration and defence20.010.010.010.010.010.010.01--
PEducation0.010.010.020.010.000.010.00-0.01 -
QHuman health and social work0.000.010.010.010.010.010.01--
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities0.080.850.670.691.080.230.73+0.50-0.35
           
Total2 0.150.180.180.200.200.230.20-0.03 -
           
Public/Private Sector         
Private sector0.200.240.230.260.250.290.26-0.03 +0.01
Public sector20.010.010.010.010.010.010.01--
           
Size of Enterprise         
Less than 50 employees0.160.200.190.210.140.150.15-+0.01
50-250 employees0.230.200.190.190.210.170.21+0.04-
Greater than 250 employees20.110.160.170.200.230.300.23-0.07 -
           
¹ Average hourly beneifts in kind (BIK) are a sub-component of average hourly other labour costs as set out in Table 6a. Eurostat consider BIK to be a part of Earnings rather than an Other Labour Costs.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 6b (XLS 37KB)
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Table 6c Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
  €€€€€€€€%€%
B-EIndustry26.5326.6126.9927.5027.4126.9827.65+0.67+2.5+0.24+0.9
FConstruction21.4520.8120.6121.6621.5722.8421.76-1.08 -4.7 +0.19+0.9
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles19.0719.6019.8620.1720.5620.5120.47-0.04 -0.2 -0.09 -0.4
HTransportation and storage23.2524.4423.8423.6923.7324.1323.75-0.38 -1.6 +0.02+0.1
IAccommodation and food services13.7213.2313.1413.4713.5813.7713.80+0.03+0.2+0.22+1.6
JInformation and communication31.9634.9135.7134.8036.9936.3138.42+2.11+5.8+1.43+3.9
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate37.6636.8638.1839.7739.9935.9540.41+4.46+12.4+0.42+1.1
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities28.0330.2529.3729.5128.5428.7329.24+0.51+1.8+0.70+2.5
NAdministrative and support services 19.2318.1519.2619.3119.5019.4120.35+0.94+4.8+0.85+4.4
OPublic administration and defence228.2528.4228.6027.6427.8227.7627.53-0.23 -0.8 -0.29 -1.0
PEducation39.0538.8738.7737.8637.2337.8537.45-0.40 -1.1 +0.22+0.6
QHuman health and social work25.7025.6625.2224.7624.4724.3924.45+0.06+0.2-0.02 -0.1
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities17.9919.6820.7619.9820.7619.2220.28+1.06+5.5-0.48 -2.3
             
Total2 25.3625.3925.6525.5025.7025.3325.86+0.53+2.1+0.16+0.6
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector23.0223.2223.6623.7724.0323.5924.31+0.72+3.1+0.28+1.2
Public sector231.7231.8932.0231.2331.2031.3031.19-0.11 -0.4 -0.01 -
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees19.7820.1420.4521.0820.6420.5720.81+0.24+1.2+0.17+0.8
50-250 employees23.7823.9223.9622.9623.6923.3424.11+0.77+3.3+0.42+1.8
Greater than 250 employees229.6829.3929.9329.4829.8629.3430.02+0.68+2.3+0.16+0.5
             
¹ Average hourly total labour costs equal the average hourly earnings in Table 2 plus the average hourly other labour costs as set out in Table 6a.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates 
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 6c (XLS 51KB)
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Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity200920102011201220132014201520152016
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
           
B-EIndustry215,200200,100197,900192,800194,400193,600202,900205,700204,400
FConstruction113,60077,50064,30062,70054,40060,40073,40077,60081,300
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles297,000277,900273,000276,400278,400270,300275,200286,200280,200
HTransportation and storage64,50063,20064,50061,00061,60061,10062,50065,30065,700
IAccommodation and food services128,800134,000112,600120,200126,600140,000139,200149,700148,400
JInformation and communication54,70055,60051,80055,90055,50058,00059,80062,60062,400
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate92,20092,20086,40087,20086,70085,80088,00085,30087,300
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities75,80074,10073,90069,20072,20084,10079,00086,50080,400
NAdministrative and support services 81,30072,70076,90072,80069,30073,20076,10081,30081,700
OPublic administration and defence2117,800116,900116,300110,700105,100107,000108,300110,300108,600
PEducation135,200132,000131,800131,700130,900133,400137,500134,900136,600
QHuman health and social work205,400212,900215,200216,600224,900222,900225,000232,400227,100
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities48,80045,70050,50048,70047,00043,90048,20048,00050,000
           
Total2 1,630,3001,554,8001,515,1001,505,9001,507,1001,533,8001,575,2001,625,8001,614,200
           
Public/Private Sector         
Private sector1,208,8001,147,9001,105,7001,116,8001,129,1001,158,2001,200,7001,245,7001,200,700
Public sector2421,200406,800409,400389,200378,000375,600374,500380,000386,600
           
¹ It should be noted that the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) is the official source of estimates of employment. The estimated trend in the number of employees refers to
QHNS employee estimates, but differs in coverage in certain ways, such as the fact that a person with two jobs could be counted twice in the table and the exclusion of the Agriculture,
forestry and fishing sector which is covered by the QNHS.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 7a (XLS 42KB)
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Table 7b Job vacancies by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter
NACE Principal Activity200920102011201220132014201520152016
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
           
B-EIndustry7008001,1001,0001,1001,0001,2001,1001,300
FConstruction4003001005002006001,000200400
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles1,5001,4001,3008008001,3002,1001,4001,500
HTransportation and storage200200200100100300400200200
IAccommodation and food services3005004004009006001,2007001,100
JInformation and communication4006009001,0008001,1001,6001,5001,600
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate4001,1001,5002,3001,8002,1002,1001,6002,100
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities3003005006008001,0001,3001,5001,300
NAdministrative and support services 3001004005008007008001,200700
OPublic administration and defence1,1004003005005006001,3001,4001,500
PEducation300200300300400400700500400
QHuman health and social work9007007008001,1001,5001,6002,4002,300
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities400200600300200300500400500
           
Total 7,0006,8008,1009,2009,50011,30015,70014,00014,900
           
Public/Private Sector         
Private sector4,9005,6007,2008,0008,2009,60012,90010,50011,500
Public sector2,1001,2001,0001,2001,3001,8002,8003,5003,500
           
* Preliminary Estimates         
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 7b (XLS 34KB)
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Table 7c Job vacancy rate by economic sector and other characterisics and quarter
NACE Principal Activitity200920102011201220132014201520152016
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
  %%%%%%%%%
B-EIndustry0.30.40.50.50.50.50.60.50.6
FConstruction0.30.30.10.80.41.01.30.30.4
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.50.50.50.30.30.50.80.50.5
HTransportation and storage0.20.30.30.20.20.50.60.20.3
IAccommodation and food services0.30.40.30.30.70.40.80.50.7
JInformation and communication0.71.01.71.71.41.82.62.42.5
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate0.41.11.72.62.02.42.31.82.3
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities0.40.40.60.91.11.21.61.71.6
NAdministrative and support services 0.30.20.50.71.21.01.11.50.9
OPublic administration and defence0.90.40.30.50.50.51.21.21.4
PEducation0.30.10.20.30.30.30.50.40.3
QHuman health and social work0.40.30.30.40.50.70.71.01.0
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities0.70.51.10.60.50.61.10.80.9
           
Total 0.40.40.50.60.60.71.00.90.9
           
Public/Private Sector         
Private Sector0.40.50.60.70.70.81.10.80.9
Public Sector0.50.30.20.30.40.50.81.00.9
           
* Preliminary Estimates  
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 7c (XLS 44KB)
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Table 8a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter
Public sector sub-sector2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
 €€€€€€€€%€%
Civil service1811.95935.26936.86925.06922.23926.83831.59-95.24-10.3-90.64-9.8
Defence833.86844.68825.97805.43807.82807.19811.03+3.84+0.5+3.21+0.4
Garda Siochana1,234.611,218.261,245.621,227.641,235.671,229.131,206.15-22.98-1.9-29.52-2.4
Education888.11917.88917.23906.04901.82932.25886.68-45.57-4.9-15.14-1.7
Regional bodies847.06822.18829.38809.20827.17834.77833.18-1.59-0.2+6.01+0.7
Health867.39883.15874.48851.64858.23893.84862.64-31.20-3.5+4.41+0.5
Semi-state992.32982.55977.90992.01992.80998.921,016.52+17.60+1.8+23.72+2.4
            
Total public sector1893.83917.46915.62902.98906.57927.83895.58-32.25-3.5-10.99-1.2
            
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies1879.59907.90906.19888.94892.54916.37876.27-40.10-4.4-16.27-1.8
            
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies998.691,050.281,021.26974.70972.68952.35995.60+43.25+4.5+22.92+2.4
Commercial Semi-state bodies990.61963.22965.81998.301,000.481,016.291,023.56+7.27+0.7+23.08+2.3
            
1 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 8a (XLS 43KB)
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Table 8b Average hourly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter
Public sector sub-sector2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
 €€€€€€€€%€%
Civil service126.3126.7526.9625.5725.5825.5024.96-0.54-2.1-0.62-2.4
Defence23.2123.7323.1322.5922.7422.6822.80+0.12+0.5+0.06+0.3
Garda Siochana29.1429.6129.9730.1730.0429.3128.80-0.51-1.7-1.24-4.1
Education38.0538.5238.9338.0137.4338.1237.64-0.48-1.3+0.21+0.6
Regional bodies24.9723.6423.9023.1723.2323.5023.25-0.25-1.1+0.02+0.1
Health26.4326.4426.5425.4425.2725.2225.05-0.17-0.7-0.22-0.9
Semi-state26.4027.2626.9827.0227.1727.4827.44-0.04-0.1+0.27+1.0
            
Total public sector128.9028.9629.0428.2928.1928.2528.08-0.17-0.6-0.11-0.4
            
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies129.3529.2529.4128.5228.3828.3928.21-0.18-0.6-0.17-0.6
            
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies29.3230.4130.4728.0628.2828.7228.48-0.24-0.8+0.20+0.7
Commercial Semi-state bodies25.7126.4026.1026.6626.7827.0727.11+0.04+0.1+0.33+1.2
            
1 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 8b (XLS 43KB)
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Table 8c Average weekly paid hours by public sector sub-sector and quarter
Public sector sub-sector2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
 hourshourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
Civil service130.935.034.736.236.136.433.3-3.1-8.5-2.8-7.8
Defence35.935.635.735.635.535.635.6--+0.1+0.3
Garda Siochana42.441.141.640.741.141.941.9--+0.8+1.9
Education23.323.823.623.824.124.523.6-0.9-3.7-0.5-2.1
Regional bodies33.934.834.734.935.635.535.8+0.3+0.8+0.2+0.6
Health32.833.433.033.534.035.434.4-1.0-2.8+0.4+1.2
Semi-state37.636.036.236.736.536.437.0+0.6+1.6+0.5+1.4
            
Total public sector130.931.731.531.932.232.831.9-0.9-2.7-0.3-0.9
            
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies130.031.030.831.231.532.331.1-1.2-3.7-0.4-1.3
            
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies34.134.533.534.734.433.235.0+1.8+5.4+0.6+1.7
Commercial Semi-state bodies38.536.537.037.437.437.537.8+0.3+0.8+0.4+1.1
            
1 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 8c (XLS 45KB)
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Table 8d Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter¹
Public sector sub-sector2011201220132014201520152016Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
 €€€€€€€€%€%
Civil service225.7926.2426.4725.0925.0924.9324.44-0.49-2.0-0.65-2.6
Defence22.2522.7822.2021.8922.0821.9321.97+0.04+0.2-0.11-0.5
Garda Siochana24.3424.5025.0025.0324.9225.0524.86-0.19-0.8-0.06-0.2
Education37.4437.9438.3737.6737.0737.5937.35-0.24-0.6+0.28+0.8
Regional bodies24.1523.0023.2522.4822.4922.7422.59-0.15-0.7+0.10+0.4
Health24.8624.8724.9224.0223.9423.8723.70-0.17-0.7-0.24-1.0
Semi-state25.3026.0125.8825.8226.0626.0126.07+0.06+0.2+0.01-
            
Total public sector227.6627.7127.8127.1727.1027.0927.02-0.07-0.3-0.08-0.3
            
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies228.0928.0028.1627.4227.3027.2927.20-0.09-0.3-0.10-0.4
            
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies29.1930.2830.2827.9327.9728.1127.67-0.44-1.6-0.30-1.1
Commercial Semi-state bodies24.3724.8524.7725.1125.3925.3225.58+0.26+1.0+0.19+0.7
            
¹ To calculate average hourly irregular earnings subtract values in Table 8d from Table 8b.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 8d (XLS 43KB)
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Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter¹
Public sector sub-sector2011201220132014201520152016Annual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
 '000'000'000'000'000'000'000'000%
Civil service244.539.739.238.738.138.142.94.812.6
Defence10.39.89.89.79.79.59.5-0.2-2.1
Garda Siochana14.313.713.313.012.812.812.8--
Education117.7111.9110.3111.2110.9111.3112.71.81.6
Regional bodies34.633.932.133.032.032.932.60.61.9
Health132.9128.8123.6118.7119.6122.2123.13.52.9
Semi-state55.151.449.751.251.452.852.81.42.7
          
Total public sector2409.4389.2378.0375.6374.5379.6386.612.13.2
          
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies2354.3337.7328.3324.4323.1326.8333.710.63.3
          
Semi-state by sub-sector         
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies11.110.19.812.612.212.112.2--
Commercial Semi-state bodies44.041.339.938.639.140.740.61.53.8
          
¹ Source: Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey. Public Sector employment includes all those who received a payment which would include both full-time and part-time employees as well as contract workers.
Total public sector numbers are also published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on a quarterly basis. Those differ in coverage from the estimates in Table A1 as Department of Public Expenditure and
Reform estimates are based on full-time equivalents which will change over time based on both changes in working hours and number of persons employed.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table 8e (XLS 36KB)
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Table A1 Estimates of average weekly earnings by broad occupational categories1
Occupation by NACE groups201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q3Q4
 €€€€             % %
Managers, professionals and associated professionals
B-E1,438.181,454.071,448.621,475.48+1.9+1.5
B-N, R-S1,256.411,259.831,281.911,288.37+0.5+2.3
O-Q1,102.061,153.661,097.911,141.17+3.9-1.1
       
Total (B-S)1,170.031,173.251,184.031,197.45+1.1+2.1
       
Clerical, sales and service employees
B-E767.71721.50762.71770.97+1.1+6.9
B-N, R-S446.72457.90453.36460.87+1.7+0.6
O-Q537.33516.10543.31537.15-1.1+4.1
       
Total (B-S)475.14468.33467.08470.33+0.7+0.4
       
Production, transport, craft and other manual workers
B-E627.04693.51701.93710.21+1.2+2.4
B-N, R-S494.17508.92505.55526.25+4.1+3.4
O-Q455.58436.25419.84442.75+5.5+1.5
       
Total (B-S)489.05495.87489.61501.43+2.4+1.1
       
1 These estimates have been generated using a sub sample of EHECS respondents and therefore caution is advised when
   interpreting these results. See background notes.
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table A1 (XLS 34KB)
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Table A2 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter1
NACE Principal ActivityEmployer Response Rate % Employee Response Rate % Total number of respondent enterprises in Q4 2015
Final Q4 2014Preliminary Q4 2015 Final Q4 2015Preliminary Q1 2016Final Q4 2014Preliminary Q4 2015 Final Q4 2015Preliminary Q1 2016
               
B-EIndustry65.252.8 64.956.6 84.873.7 83.873.2 705
FConstruction44.637.7 44.036.3 74.663.4 70.555.3 113
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles62.652.2 62.852.2 81.370.8 78.372.7 833
HTransportation and storage55.148.9 59.348.9 87.476.9 89.084.3 160
IAccommodation and food services47.842.3 52.544.0 66.460.3 70.660.0 438
JInformation and communication66.157.4 67.658.3 87.677.7 84.078.0 209
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate70.963.6 70.862.0 92.987.3 90.382.7 226
MProfessional, scientific and technical activites59.051.5 57.052.7 80.872.2 78.665.2 247
NAdministrative and support service activities63.558.2 68.856.3 83.577.0 88.279.0 269
OPublic administration and defence91.586.2 90.884.2 98.097.0 99.197.4 118
PEducation69.462.3 69.964.4 92.384.4 90.486.8 172
QHuman health and social work76.166.9 73.865.6 94.286.1 91.187.1 528
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities64.153.9 65.256.0 82.474.4 86.075.6 266
               
Total 62.954.1 63.754.8 87.179.0 86.179.3 4,284
               
1 This table presents the response rates achieved by sector. Greater caution should be taken in the interpretation of estimates for sectors with lower response rates as these sectors could be subject
   to greater revisions if response levels are increased for final estimates.
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table A2 (XLS 36KB)
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Table A3 Preliminary data versus final data1
NACE Principal ActivityPreliminary Q4 2015 Final Q4 2015 Percentage Change
Average weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hoursAverage weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hoursAverage weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hours
             
B-EIndustry864.0922.2038.9858.4122.0938.9-0.7 -0.5 -
FConstruction749.7920.0437.4749.5720.2936.9-+1.2-1.3
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles549.6217.6131.2549.1517.6531.1-0.1 +0.2-0.3
HTransportation and storage758.9020.6136.8755.4620.5036.9-0.5 -0.5 +0.3
IAccommodation and food services321.5112.3626.0327.1312.4226.3+1.7+0.5+1.2
JInformation and communication1,075.0329.2336.81,070.5529.3936.4-0.4 +0.5-1.1
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1,029.5828.8335.71,022.2928.9135.4-0.7 +0.3-0.8
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities824.0825.0332.9829.0324.6833.6+0.6-1.4 +2.1
NAdministrative and support service549.7617.2032.0526.9416.9931.0-4.2 -1.2 -3.1
OPublic administration and defence2937.8925.6236.6928.8125.6336.2-1.0 --1.1
PEducation822.5134.4823.9822.4534.2624.0--0.6 +0.4
QHuman health and social work687.9821.9531.3691.1621.9731.5+0.5+0.1+0.6
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities475.4917.0727.9470.5516.8727.9-1.0 -1.2 -
          
Total2 712.7521.9432.5710.1621.8932.4-0.4 -0.2 -0.3
           
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector648.9920.0632.4647.7320.0432.3-0.2 -0.1 -0.3
Public sector2930.6728.2632.9927.8328.2532.8-0.3 --0.3
           
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees560.9018.2330.8558.1318.1630.7-0.5 -0.4 -0.3
50-250 employees647.4419.8732.6659.5820.1032.8+1.9+1.2+0.6
Greater than 250 employees2846.3825.1433.7842.4325.1133.5-0.5 -0.1 -0.6
           
1 See background notes.
2 Includes Census 2016 temporary field staff. See Table A4.
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table A3 (XLS 38KB)
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Table A4 Effect of Census field staff on earnings, hours, labour costs and employment
Q1 2016*Average Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly Paid HoursAverage Hourly Earnings ex Irregular EarningsAverage Hourly Irregular EarningsAverage Hourly Other Labour CostsAverage Hourly Total Labour CostsEmployment
€€Hours€€€€
Including Census 2016 temporary field staff
Public administration and defence894.8825.3335.324.241.102.2027.53108,600
Civil service831.5924.9633.324.440.521.8326.8042,900
Total public sector ex semi-state876.2728.2131.127.201.012.6930.90333,700
Total public sector895.5828.0831.927.021.063.1131.19386,600
Greater than 250 employees842.4825.8932.523.911.984.1330.02752,700
Total all sectors707.9922.4031.620.861.553.4525.861,614,200
         
Excluding Census 2016 temporary field staff
Public administration and defence930.6925.4536.624.341.112.2127.65104,000
Civil service921.5625.2736.524.730.531.8527.1238,400
Total public sector ex semi-state888.0528.2631.427.251.012.730.96329,200
Total public sector905.9628.1332.227.061.073.1231.24382,000
Greater than 250 employees847.0825.9132.723.921.984.1430.04748,100
Total all sectors709.7522.4131.720.861.553.4525.861,609,700
* Preliminary Estimates
Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Cost Q1 2016 Table A4 (XLS 34KB)
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Background Notes

Introduction

The Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey (EHECS) replaced the four-yearly Labour Cost Survey, and also replaced all other CSO short-term earnings inquiries. The EHECS results are comparable across sectors and include more detail on components of earnings and labour costs than was previously available.

Legislation  

The survey information is collected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the S.I. No 140 of 2013 Statistics (Labour Costs Surveys) Order 2013.  The information collected is treated as strictly confidential in accordance with the Statistics Act 1993.  The survey results meet the requirements for Labour Costs statistics set out in Council Regulation (EC) 530/1999.

Business Register 

The CSO’s Business Register provides the register of relevant enterprises for the survey. An enterprise is defined as the smallest legally independent unit.

Business Classification

The business classification used for the EHECS is based on the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev.2). The NACE code of each enterprise included in the survey was determined from the predominant activity of the enterprise, based on information provided in this or other CSO inquiries.

Nace Classification

NACE Rev.2 is the latest classification system for economic activities, updated from NACE Rev 1.1. A major revision of NACE was conducted between 2000 and 2007, in order to ensure that the NACE classification system remained relevant for the economy.  The main changes that affected the release was the reclassification of some industrial enterprises from industry to services (principally in the software and publishing sectors) and the inclusion of air conditioning supply, sewerage, water management and remediation activities in industry.   See web link to NACE coder :-

http://www.cso.ie/px/u/NACECoder/NACEItems/searchnace.asp

Coverage

The  survey  results  relate  to  enterprises  in  the  Nace  Rev  2  Sections  B  –  E  (Industry),  F (Construction), G (Wholesale & retail trade: repair of motor vehicles & motorcycles), H (Transportation & storage), I (Accommodation & food services activities), J (Information & communication), K-L (Financial, insurance & real estate activities), M (Professional, scientific & technical activities), N (Administrative & support services activities), O (Public administration & defence), P (Education), Q (Human health & social work activities) and R-S (Arts, entertainment, recreation & other service activities) with 3 or more employees.  The data was collected at the enterprise level.

All enterprises with 50 or more employees and a sample of those with 3 to 49 employees are surveyed each quarter. The sample is based on the proportion of companies in each NACE 2 digit economic sectors in the 3 to 49 size classes (3 to 9, 10 to 19 and 20 to 49).

Earnings in the public sector are calculated before the deduction of the pension levy that was introduced in March 2009.

For Q1 and Q2 2011 and Q1 2016 temporary Census field staff are included in all tables due to the large numbers involved.   

Data Collection

The survey is conducted by post and questionnaires are issued in the last week of the relevant quarter. Some returns are received electronically. All returns are scrutinised for accuracy. Where appropriate, firms are queried by post or telephone regarding incompleteness, apparent inconsistencies, etc. Information about the survey is on the CSO website and all questionnaires and instructions are available electronically there.

Differences with discontinued sources

The EHECS is not directly comparable with other discontinued short-term earnings surveys such as the Quarterly Industrial Inquiry (QII), the Quarterly Services Inquiry (QSI) and the Quarterly Earnings and Hours worked in Construction (QEC).  The main differences are:

The EHECS collects data on the entire reference quarter while the QII, QSI and QEC only collected data for a reference week in the quarter.

  •   Data on earnings and labour costs per hour is generally presented on the basis of hours paid and worked in the EHECS.  Data on earnings per hour was presented on the basis of hours paid (including paid leave)   in the QII.
  • The EHECS uses a standardised form for all NACE sectors with a standard occupational classification for all enterprises while the QII, QSI and QEC surveys had their own occupational classifications.  However the EHECS category “Production, Craft and other Manual workers” corresponds broadly to the “Industrial” category in the QII; the EHECS category “Clerical, Sales and Service Workers” also corresponds broadly to the QII category “Clerical and other office staff”; the QII category “Managerial and technical staff” is largely equivalent to the EHECS category “Managers, Professional and Associated Professionals”.
  •   The EHECS collects data for enterprises while the QII collected data for local units.
  •   Data on hours is collected for all categories of employees in the EHECS, while such data was limited to the industrial workers in the QII, non-managerial employees in the QEC and not collected at all in the QSI.
  •  The earnings data collected for the EHECS includes irregular earnings, irregular bonuses etc while these items were excluded from the QII, QSI and QEC which only collected data on regular earnings (including regular bonuses) and overtime.
  •   Non-labour costs such as employers PRSI, other social costs, benefit in kind etc., are collected for the EHECS but were not collected for the QII, QSI and QEC surveys.
  •  Data on employees in the QII, QSI and QEC was collected with regard to the reference week. In the EHECS employment data is collected with regard to the first and last day of the quarter.

 

Definitions

Employees

All full-time or part-time workers paid a specific wage or salary or who had a contract of employment are defined as employees.   Persons not working for salary e.g. family members, directors, partners, outside pieceworkers etc., are not considered employees but other persons engaged.  These workers are included separately but not used in the calculation of derived variables.  All employment figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Part-time Employees

Part-time employees are defined as those who normally worked less than around 30 hours per week.  These included persons who worked for some whole days per week as well as those who worked for part of the day each day.

Apprentices

Apprentices are defined as those whose wages/salaries are governed by the fact that they work either under an apprenticeship contract or as part of a training program.  They are included in the calculation of earnings and hours data.  They were also combined with full-time and part-time employees in determining the size group to which enterprises were classified.

Category of employees  by occupation

For some enterprises information was collected separately for three occupational groups. The three groups are:

1. Managers, Administrators, Professionals and Associate Professionals.

2. Clerical, Sales and Service workers.

3. Production, Transport workers, Craft & Tradespersons and other Manual workers.

Wages and Salaries

All wages and salaries payments are gross (i.e. before deduction of income tax and employees’ PRSI contributions and levies such as the public sector pension levy).  In the analysis, the total wages and salaries are divided into: 

  •   Regular earnings i.e. pay and allowances paid at each pay period, even if the amount may vary.
  •   Overtime, i.e. payments for working in excess of normal hours, usually paid at a premium.
  •   Irregular bonuses and premiums, pay and allowances not paid at each pay period, i.e. annual or quarterly bonuses etc.

Hours 

Weekly paid hours include total contracted hours plus overtime hours.

Other Costs

The following are the other categories of labour costs:

  • Statutory employers’ PRSI including the social security contributions for apprentices.
  • Other social costs; which encompass pension fund contributions, life assurance premiums, income continuance insurance as well as other employee-related payments paid by the employer.
  • Benefits in kind; which include private use of company cars, stock options & share purchase schemes, voluntary sickness insurance, staff housing and other free or subsidised benefits (e.g. canteen facilities,   childcare provision, health costs).
  • Other labour costs.
  • Redundancy payments.

Benefits in Kind

Benefits in Kind (BIK) are considered to be an “Other Labour Cost” in the Earnings and Labour Costs release and is included in the Other Labour Costs data reported in Table 6a of the release. Eurostat consider Benefits in Kind to be a part of Earnings rather than Other Labour Costs; this is reflected in Eurostat’s Labour Costs Index, Labour Costs Survey and Structure of Earnings Survey. Average hourly benefits in kind are detailed in Table 6b of the Earnings and Labour Costs release to ensure users can make the most informed comparisons between data sources.

Subsidies and Refunds

These are amounts received by firms under the various state schemes (IDA employment incentive scheme, grants etc.) as well as refunds from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) for sick and maternity leave.  These are deducted from the firms’ labour costs in the analysis.

Job Vacancies

Respondents are asked to provide the number of job vacancies in their firm as at the last working day of the quarter. A job vacancy is defined as a newly created post, an unoccupied post or post about to become vacant in the near future, where the employer is actively looking for (i.e. advertising, contacting employment agencies, etc.) and willing to recruit a suitable candidate immediately or very soon. The posts must be open to external candidates, although it may be filled by an internal candidate. Due to one off recruitments by individual firms and a low number of firms reporting vacancies, the job vacancies series can be volatile and should be interpreted with caution.  Job vacancy information is collected by the Central Statistics Office under EU regulation (EC) No. 453/2008. For more information on job vacancies please see the link below.

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/labour-market/job-vacancies

Job Vacancy Rate

The job vacancy rate (JVR) measures the proportion of total posts that are vacant, according to the definition of job vacancy above, expressed as a percentage as follows

Job Vacancy Rate = ( Number of job vacancies / Number of occupied jobs + Number of job vacancies ) * 100

National Minimum Wage (NMW)

The National Minimum Wage Act 2000 became law on the 1st April 2000. Enterprises are asked to indicate the number of employees in receipt of the NMW at the end of each quarter.  A detailed guide to the Act is available from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at www.djei.ie. Employees earning less than the minimum wage due to age or training status are also included.  These rates do not apply to close relatives of the employer or apprentices other than apprentice hairdressers.

 

Derived Variables

Employment

The sum of full-time employees and part-time employees on the last day of the quarter plus the average number of apprentices engaged during the quarter.

Average Weekly Earnings 

Total earnings for the quarter divided by the average number of persons employed during the quarter divided by 13  (number of weeks in a quarter).

Average Hourly Earnings

The sum of regular earnings, irregular earnings, and overtime earnings for the quarter divided by total paid hours for the quarter.

Average Hourly Irregular Earnings

Total irregular earnings in the quarter divided by total paid hours for the quarter.

Average Weekly Paid Hours

Total paid hours for the quarter divided by the average number of persons employed during the quarter divided by 13 (number of weeks in a quarter).  Unpaid hours worked (including unpaid overtime) and unpaid leave are excluded.

Average Hourly Other Labour Costs

The sum of other labour costs divided by total paid hours for the quarter. Other labour costs include redundancy payments, employers’ contributions to social security, other social costs, benefit in kind and other labour costs.  Subsidies and refunds received were deducted.

Average Hourly Total Labour Costs

Hourly labour costs are total labour costs divided by the total number of hours paid during the quarter.

Annual Data

Annualised results are available as a separate release, details of which are available on the CSO website.    

 

Methodology for production results

All enterprises with 50 or more employees are surveyed as well as a sample of enterprises which have between 3 and 49 employees inclusive. The classifications by size of enterprise are based on total persons engaged on the first day of the quarter.

Weighting

For enterprises with 3 to 49 employees inclusive, a weighting factor (the reciprocal of the sampling fraction) is used to weight the estimates to the total population for both employees and enterprises. The CSO Business Register forms the basis of the sampling frame used for weighting the sample data to the population.  Decay factors are calculated for each size class and sector to adjust the non-sampled element of the register for the respondent non-relevant enterprises.

Imputation

Imputation is carried out for non-respondents in the greater than 50 employees’ categories. Where an enterprise responded in the previous quarter ratio-imputation is used to estimate figures for the current quarter while for enterprises that did not respond in the previous quarter a stratum average imputation method is used to estimate the missing variables. These estimates are based on respondent enterprises of a similar size and activity.

Final Estimates 

After imputation, all enterprises with 50 or more employees are accounted for and included in the final dataset.  For those cells where a sample survey of enterprises is used (enterprises employing between 3 and 49 employees), the results are expanded using the grossing factors to cover the entire population for the relevant industries in the quarter.  Macro edits are carried out at this stage and any outliers are investigated and corrected. Coherence of the data is ensured by scrutinising quarter on quarter changes.

Interpretation of results

The series presented in this release and all estimates deriving from the EHECS survey are primarily of use as an indicator of trends in average earnings and paid hours of employees across different classifications. However, in interpreting the trends and in undertaking direct comparison of the average level of earnings of different groups of employees or sectors some caution in interpretation is warranted.

In the case of trends, changes in the composition of employees in a given sector or group has an effect on the average levels of earnings and paid hours over time. For example if the proportion of part time employees increases within a sector then it would be expected that the average weekly earnings and paid hours would fall in that sector even if hourly pay rates were unchanged.

In the case of direct comparison of earnings levels estimates are based on raw earnings levels. To get a true picture of differences in earnings levels of different employees comparisons should take account of differences in the characteristics of employees such as length of service, educational attainment level, nature of work  etc., none of which are available via EHECS.  The additional information available from the annual National Employment Survey (NES) allows for a more detailed analysis of differences in earnings levels and should be referred to by users seeking more detailed information on earnings determinants than is available from EHECS.

Seasonal Adjustment

To correct for typical seasonal patterns, the series presented in Table 4 have been seasonally adjusted. Since Quarter 1 2015 seasonal adjustment of earnings and labour costs data is completed by applying the X-13-ARIMA model, developed by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Seasonal adjustment is conducted using the direct approach, where each individual series (average weekly earnings, average weekly hours worked, average hourly earnings, average hourly irregular earnings, average hourly other labour costs and average hourly total labour costs)  is independently adjusted for each sector.

As a result of the direct seasonal adjustment approach employed, it should be noted that the sum of any component series may not be equal to seasonally adjusted series to which these components belong. For example, the seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings and seasonally adjusted other labour costs will not necessarily add up to the seasonally adjusted average total labour costs.

The X-13 ARIMA method has the X-11 moving averages process at its core, but builds on this by providing options for pre-treating the series using a regARIMA approach for prior adjustment and series extension. In essence this methodology will estimate seasonal factors while taking account of calendar effects (e.g timing of Easter), outliers, temporary changes and level shifts.

All earnings series are updated quarterly with the entire seasonally adjusted series from Q1 2008 as part of the concurrent approach. A comprehensive review of the seasonal adjustment specification is carried annually where revisions to the entire series are made. Revisions to the series are typically very minor in scale.

Occupational category estimates

From Q2 2010 a sub-sample of EHECS respondents has been used to generate earnings and hours estimates by three broad occupational categories.

Results are derived by utilising a matched sample of enterprises between consecutive quarters to generate quarterly updates to the previous quarters earnings.  An estimated series is included in table A1.  Given the number of enterprises involved it is only possible to produce reliable estimates when the sectors are grouped. Earnings for the broad occupational groups are therefore presented by the following amalgamations:

  • B-E                  Industry
  • B-N/R-S           All NACE sectors from Industry to Administrative and support service activities inclusive, plus Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities
  • O-Q                 All NACE sectors from Public administration and defence to Human health and social work activities, inclusive
  • B-S                  All NACE sectors

Review of preliminary versus final data

A detailed review of preliminary estimates and final data was undertaken to ascertain the extent of change between both sets of results.  The review focused on response rates, scale of revision at NACE sectoral level and significant changes in trends.  The findings of the review indicate that the preliminary figures can be accepted as a suitable indicator for quarterly trends. Analysis of the results for individual NACE sectors highlighted that the change from preliminary to final data was broadly in the range of plus or minus 5%. However, as response rates can impact on the quality of data at the sectoral level, it is advisable to be aware of this when interpreting preliminary results. In the quarterly release table A3 contains the differences between preliminary and final data for the most recent reported quarter, while table A2 highlights response rates.

Labour Cost Index (LCI)

Results of EHECS are compiled and transmitted to Eurostat for inclusion in the Labour Cost Index. The quarterly Labour Cost Index (LCI) shows the short-term development of the total hourly costs incurred by the employers of maintaining their employees. In other words, the LCI measures the costs arising from the production factor 'labour'. The LCI covers the economic activities of industry and services (including public administration). The reference year of the index is 2008. The labour cost index data is collected by EU Member States and is transmitted to Eurostat. In addition to the index numbers, Eurostat provides annual and quarterly growth rates of labour cost. Further labour cost index information and data is available through the Eurostat website:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/labour-market/labour-costs/database

Public Sector Employment

There are two CSO surveys which can potentially provide information on public sector employment. The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) can provide estimates based on all respondents who are in employment being asked whether they work in the public sector or not. The EHECS, which is the source of the quarterly Earnings and Labour Costs data, provides estimates based on responses from the employer. Specifically in the case of EHECS there is a response level of close to 80% for public sector employers over time.

Based on the higher response levels and lower levels of subjectivity associated with EHECS the CSO believes it offers a more reliable source for public sector number estimates over time and the CSO publishes data from EHECS as the primary series on public sector numbers.  Table 8e contains the estimates of public sector numbers broken down by the different high level areas within the public sector.

Public Sector Organisations

Public sector organisations consists of the following:

  • Civil Service
  • Defence
  • Garda Síochána
  • Education
  • Regional bodies
  • Health
  • Semi State, both commercial and non-commercial

Financial Crisis Related Bodies

Nationalised banks are in temporary public ownership resulting from the financial crisis, their employment and earnings data are excluded from Public Sector earnings and employment figures, this is in order to maintain the stability of the series. Their data is reflected in the appropriate NACE sector.

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